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AU: Why tax cuts aren't enough to stave off recession
These projects, if run successfully, boost employment and can lift productivity. Unlike tax cuts, which last forever and tend to lock in revenue shortfalls during tough times, infrastructure projects have a finite life and can be wound back during booms. But they can be problematic, and expensive, as the NBN rollout has shown. Without independent oversight and costing analysis, they can easily become political footballs with electioneering as their main objective. One of the worst examples was the East West Link debacle in Melbourne. Legally binding contracts were signed shortly before the 2014 state election. It was ... (full story)